Do you know any of
those people who suggest that you should
never listen to classical music when
doing something else, i.e. you should
not use it as background music? I do.
If anyone tries that one on you with
an air of "tut-tut" then remind
them that there is a huge body of music
written for that very purpose. It may
include dance music but also "soirée"
type pieces that would be played while
people chatted, ate, drank, flirted,
perambulated or whatever.

The music we have on
this disc is late 18th century Austrian
background music, belonging to a period
when the aristocratic houses were beginning
to feel an economic pinch and as a result
were trimming their private orchestras.
Just a little earlier Mozart was able
to write functional music of this type
for the same market with works, for
example, scored for many wind instruments;
or string orchestra (as in Eine kleine
Nachtmusik).

By the mid-1790s, Beethoven
and his older contemporary, Anton Wranitzky,
were having to write for much more limited
resources: in this case two oboes and
a cor anglais – three double reed instruments
which make for a pungent sound, especially
on the two keyed, authentic instruments
used on the disc. I surmise that what
we have here is an example of a supremely
great composer not trying very hard,
and a much lesser one putting in quite
a bit of effort. So the playing field
is a great deal more level than it otherwise
might be.

Little is known about
the circumstances of composition and
performance of these works. Beethoven’s
Don Giovanni variations (testimony
to the fact that shortly after his death
Mozart was becoming a very popular composer
in Vienna) may well have been intended
as a movement in the trio. What we do
know is that both composers shared some
of the same patrons. They knew each
other well and Anton’s brother Paul
conducted the premiere of Beethoven’s
First Symphony. Who knows – these
works may have been played on similar
occasions for the same patron.

There is much to delight
in the music, and interest in comparing
the two composers. Beethoven may not
be on top form but still shows his class
over Wranitzky who, in keeping with
lesser talents, relies so much more
on sequence and repetition to keep the
music going. Nevertheless, I enjoyed
Wranitzky’s andante variations and his
rondo finale has great joie de vivre
with a couple of telling excursions
into minor key territory.

Irrespective of the
music, I thought the disc worth having
as an example of fine playing on copies
of contemporary instruments. There is
that extra penetrating sound that may
have been particularly suitable for
outdoor performance at a summer soirée.
The players are notable in this field
in North America (there is an informative
note in the booklet) and their ensemble
playing is immaculate. This is notably
apparent in the Presto of the
Beethoven piece with its staccato chords.
Occasionally there is a hint of
struggle in fast runs but this probably
betrays the fact that the players are
faced with tricky cross fingerings,
necessary when there are only two keys
at their disposal.

It is possible sometimes
to hear the clatter of these keys, so
close is the recording. The sound is
very clean but I was a little disconcerted
at certain harshness when I played the
disc on my up-market hi-fi. However,
on ordinary equipment this was not evident
and if you do want to listen to the
music in the spirit in which it was
written – as background – then it should
sound well in the car, the kitchen,
or wherever suits you.

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